The Tour of CA is the biggest professional road cycling race in the country and Specialized always takes part since it is in their backyard. The race draws the best riders in the world and they race throughout CA with a massive entourage of mechanics, media and spectators in tow. Specialized brought in their 5 World Champions for a photo shoot and the VIP treatment for this event. I was included in that very elite group with Paolo Bettini (road), Chrisoph Sauser (mountain bike), Conrad Stolz (off road triathlon) and Chris “Macca” MacCormack (ironman triathlon). I arrived in CA to the host hotel where the race prologue would start in a couple of days. The hotel was full of athletes milling around and the parking lot was overloaded with huge sponsor trailers and hordes of really expensive bikes. The photo shoot was arranged to have all of us in one location in our cycling uniforms and with our winning bikes. The day was a lot of hanging around and chatting with Christoph, Macca, and Conrad about their various races, training regimes, equipment and lifestyles. At first, I was pretty intimidated to go to a photo shoot with someone as legendary as Paolo Bettini. But after thinking about it, I realized that I could not do what any of these guys do, but they also could not do what I do. It was a once in a lifetime experience to be in the same room and able to rub elbows with such well-known and accomplished athletes. It was also great to find out that they are just regular guys and all really nice people. I must admit, I was a bit star struck by Paolo Bettini. The man is an Olympic champion, World champion and has been at the top end of road racing for a very long time. When he entered the room, he definitely carried himself with the air of a champion, but a very friendly champion. There was quite a stir before his arrival and he only had limited time with us since he was racing the following day. His bike arrived before he did and I took the opportunity to check it out in hopes that some of Paolo’s speed would rub off on me.

When he did arrive for the group photo, I did my best to recall the French classes I’d taken years ago. He is Italian and speaks very little English. French was the closest language we could find to communicate. I was able to joke with him about the size of his legs (big), the size of his bike (very small), his golden cycling shoes (a little stinky), and the cycling paparazzi that follow him around. He was charming and I think appreciated the short reprieve from the stress of racing. The five of us signed a few of the Specialized hand posters. I’d been perfecting my signature earlier because I wanted to be sure that my name next to the four other champions looked OK. I tried to act naturally as if this sort of thing happens to me all the time. It is a day I will not soon forget.

The first day of the race was a very short prologue where all the athletes rode a time trial through the streets of Palo Alto one at a time. The 5 Champions, minus Paolo, all went for a really pleasant group ride with a bunch of Specialized employees and friends. After the ride, I saw Paolo warming up and we exchanged a few clumsy words in French. He offered to let me warm up with him and a few other guys from the Gerolsteiner team. So I rode a few blocks around Palo Alto with them. The streets were lined with people and I felt like a rock star. Paolo and I traded sunglasses because he liked my Specialized ones better than the ones he was wearing.

The viewing of the prologue was amazing. Specialized had arranged a VIP gathering for the 5 World Champions at a curbside restaurant right on the course. They had all of our bikes there, giant posters, and all 5 of our framed World Championship jerseys. We hung out, ate and drank great food, chatted with dealers and watched the racers speed by at 40mph. Part way through the line up, my cell phone rang and my friend at Specialized had arranged for me to ride in a team car behind one of the Gerolsteiner riders. The car rips around the course behind the rider in case they have a problem with their bike. Greg and I barely made it in time to jump in the car with the team mechanic and manager. It was the fastest three minutes of my life and really scary driving. The team director was yelling out the window at the rider and we zipped around the corners at top speed. They unloaded us at the finish line just in time for our poster signing at the Specialized booth in the Expo area. It was a lot faster than having to walk to the expo area.

The following day was a beautiful ride along the Marin County coastline after watching the start of the race for that day. This would be the last sunny day of riding for a while. The next few days consisted of 60 to 100 miles of riding the race course with the top 20 Specialized dealers in the country and the owner of Specialized, Mike Sinyard. Mike had arranged this trip as a thank you to his top dealers. Each morning, we would meet up very early to get ahead of the race and start out on a long ride. My first day with this group consisted of a very cold, wet, windy ride down Highway 1 from Monterey to San Luis Obisbo. The winds were howling so hard along the coast that I nearly got blown off my bike. It was a bonding experience with the dealers and this day made the following rides seem easy. Our group got picked up by the support vans each day and shuttled to the finish line of the race to watch the mayhem at the finish. The finish lines were always packed with spectators and the race usually made a few loops around the finish town so you could watch the racers come by multiple times. After the finishes, the racers are whisked into their team trailers and their bikes are shuttled to their mechanics. I must admit, I definitely hung around the team trailers and was a bit of a groupie, trying to get a glimpse of the elite riders. Just in case you’re wondering, Paolo did say hello to me on his way to the podium the day he finished 3rd!

Since I was hanging out with the Specialized sponsors, I did get access and introductions that would not have been offered to the regular spectator on the street. Overall, it was a 10 day whirlwind of my own tour of CA. I met cycling legends, Olympians, and some great friends. I got in a fantastic week of bike training while there was still snow on the ground at home. The whole experience was a sweet reward for my championship title and super hard work last season. I truly felt like a World Champion that week.